New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-06-19
SOME MINOR FICTION.

FROM THE BOSTON STANDARD TO JULES
VERNE.
A WEEK AWAY FROM TIME 16mo. PIP, $40. Boston {:
Roberts Brothers.
IN OLE VIRGINIA: Or. MARsE CHAN AND OTHER
STORIES. BY THOMAS NELSON PAGE limo, PIP. 23V
Charles Scribners sons.
THE GREAT HEsPER BY FRANK BARRETT 16mo.,
PIP. 173. d. Appleton & Go.
ROBUR THE CONQUEROR By JULEsvERSE 16mo.
PIP. 13l. George Munroe.
Boccacco furnished the model for "a Week Away
From Time; but he furnished nothing more IL is
pleasantly written narrative of the plan adopted
by young and fair widow to entertain a party of
guests at her seaside home at Fair Harbor. The
atmosphere Of the circle Is distinctly Bostonian
Philadelphia is piticssly snubbed. All the peo-
pie are cultured, and talk in tie polished manner
native to Athenians. In the evening they
tell stories, and these stories, which constitute a
moiety of the book, good, bad and Indifferent
One Of them is not story at all, but sort of SER
mon, and 1t was perhaps less than fair
to betray the summer-reader into the perusal OF
that piece of dreadful didacticism slight thread
of plot runs through the volume, aordng place for
little Iove-makiDg Of q rather too conventional
type. One remark on this love-making however,
must be made. 1t Indirectly reflects tho severe
Boston Standard for whereas young man who
is both Antinous and Apollo pays court to a girl
she rejects HIM for the Professor who perpetratos
the essay on Happiness 1t is true that the girl is
described as English, but though the hands be the
hands OF Esau voice is the voice Of Jacob There
is good deal of cleverness in the book. however
Thomas Nelson Pages stories Of negro life III Vir-
glnia need no introduction There are six in this
volume, and all Of them have pleased magazine
readers in their turn. The dialect Of Eastern VIr
ginIa as the author observes in predatory note
different from that Of most other parts of the South
Certainly, represented in these stories, 1T re-
sembles other literary attempt to produce the
negro dialect. and is consequently rather bad for
the average Northern reader to deal with The
stories themselves inclined to melancholy and
sad memories, and this is natural, like Mr. Lilly
vicks "reminiscences of the French prisoners de-
preston of Spirits for tales Of the war told from
the Southern point of view, and especially by old
negro use-servants. devoted to their fallen mas
tiers, can hardly be expected to excel IN cheerful
ness. There is plenty Of simple pathos In
some of the stories. and plenty Of rollicking
plantation fun in others Perhaps the narration
of long stories almost wholly IN peculiar negro
dialect tends to WEAKNESS or distraction after
time though Mr.. Pages tales seldom so lengthy
as to risk this. Much knowledge of the slave
habits Of mind well body is shown Incl
dentally in theses tales. and they form welcome
aOQtlOn 10 tne fortunately increasing literature or
q period and condition at time threatened
with an oblivion which would have been nothing
less than national reproacb.
''The Great Hesper" would probably never have
been written had Mr. Wilkie Collins not published
THE MOonstone." To say this. however, is not TO
hint at plagiarism No charge of the kind will lie
against Mr. Barrett All that he has borrowed, il
he has borrowed anything is the idea of precious
stone which is the centre Of plots and counter
plots, and which causes great deal Of trouble
"Tne Great Hesper" is an immense diamond dug
up at the Cape diamond fields by three who are
in partnership They take the stone to England
and there it is mysterously stolen. and in way
which breaks up the partnership and causes each
member TO suspect the others OF having committed
the theft The presently shifts to California
where she author shows his ignorance Of the coun-
try by putting Sacramento upon a hillside, and In
PRODUCING the Sierras scenery such as no travel
Ter hunter has ever yet upon in that
region. This, however is Of no consequence as
probability possibility has very little TO do
with THE Great Hesper." The darkest puzzles in
the story are made to turn upon peculiar and
uncommon optical disease. aud this is ingenious.
" The Great Hespsss' 10 finally disposed Of 10 an